ICT skills - What, Why and How - an anecdotal journey that will not be everyone's cup of tea

When I first read the outline for this blog post, my initial thought was "What are ICT skills, exactly?" Embarassing, maybe, given the theme of this course, but what does this term mean in the context of my life/my career?" And once I define the parameters of this term for myself, what skills do I already possess, why do I need to know more, and how do I get there? This post, while anecdotal, will attempt to begin to answer these questions for me.

While the term ICT is broad, Indeed, a prominent career/job advice website, defines ICT skills as "abilities that help you understand and operate a wide range of technology software. This can include helping users with tasks on computers, such as making video calls, searching on the internet or using a mobile device like a tablet or phone. ICT skills can also include any direct interaction with technology, including turning on a computer, using hardware to print and copy documents and using digital cameras to capture photographs or video footage." Indeed Editorial Team, 2022

Indeed goes on to give the following examples of ICT skills:

• Technological Knowledge

• Online Research

• Social Media Management

• Netiquette

• Data Management

• Desktop Publishing

• Word Processing

• Collaboration

• Problem Solving

• Organization

Oh.  We do ALL of those things in school.  Every. Day.

I mean, mostly I do my best to keep kids away from Social Media during class time, but maybe I need to catch up a bit.  They use it (so do I, sort of)... may as well embrace it and teach how to best use it. (I'll save this for another blog post).

When I consider how I have developed my ICT skills over the years, mostly, it has been reactively, rather than proactively.  Or, maybe proactively, but only as a solution to a project I have dreamed up.  Often, I throw my students in and we learn together along the way.  The upside to this “technique” is that I actually do it.  I have discovered that if I don’t toss myself into something and instead wait until I’m a pro… it will never happen.  So, usually I look at a new tool briefly, think “How hard can it be?”, and jump in.  This is great, but it can get me into hot water sometimes, as I grossly underestimate the time it will take to learn and then use the product (even for tech savvy students).  

My latest example of the pros and cons of "just jumping in" to projects with ICT components just wrapped up last week. Earlier this year, I got talking with one of my colleagues (who happens to teach math).  Due to some overlap in our personal interests and connections, we thought it would be fun to do a cross-curricular board game project combining Social Studies and math.  Board games with a historical context that use mathematical board game mechanics.  Add a field trip to Board With Friends board game cafe and, boom! Instant fun and learning wrapped up in one neat package!  

I had also been asked by someone at the board office if our school would like to have a Glowforge. 

"Yes!  Obviously!  Wait, what’s a Glowforge?"  If you click on the link (which I did, because I, too, had no idea what a Glowforge was), you’ll see that a Glowforge can “make magical things at the touch of a button”.  Magic? Button?  I’m in. 

So, in I dove.  "Let’s do professional-style board games with historical contexts that combine mathematical concepts with Glowforged pieces (and maybe dust off our 3D printer too!!) and professional rule books (printed in full colour), in French!"  I’ll spare you the details, but basically I tossed myself and my students into seven of the above ICT skills with very little (read: no) training or experience.  In fairness, I was supposed to have a training session on the Glowforge but missed it because I broke my ankle, a student had shown me how to use Canva (my amazing plan for the professional looking rulebooks) last year, and I own a bunch of board games… so… 

...a coffee shop planning session with my colleague and six weeks of small group work later.... produced some of the most AMAZING grade 8 projects of all time.  A huge “Board Game Fair” in the gym allowed other students to check them out. 

The project was not without its hiccups, however, and they were mostly due to what I will henceforth call the "proactive learning deficit" I mentioned above.  Because I did not spend enough time figuring out the Glowforge, I underestimated the time it would take to print items.  Because I did not spend enough time learning Canva, I misunderstood some of the details with regards to collaboration, its use with the Glowforge and its use with Chromebooks (which is what our students have access to).  We overcame most of these issues, except the Glowforge because sickness ravaged my family during the week I had planned to do the Glowforging and my week turned into one rushed day and a late night at school.

We'll call some of the last minute changes to board game plans "real life" and chalk it all up to learning.

As a result of this project and our Board Game Fair, I had many teachers ask me to teach them to use the Glowforge so that they, too, could develop fun project ideas for/with their students.  I will discuss this in my next blog entry.

So, the takeaway:

My advice on developing new ICT skills: jump in. Keep your eyes and ears open and say yes to anything that seems interesting. Ask your colleagues for advice and yes, Google it.  

If that’s too scary (or time-wasty):  Here is YouTuber (gah… my old lady ears are burning!) Sam Carey, who can help with… everything…

His YouTube channel is:  https://www.youtube.com/c/NewEdTechClassroom

Check it out!  Highly worth the scroll, as even just that can inspire you to try something new. 

For even more tips and tricks, scroll down to the bottom of the New EdTech Classroom and check out some of his

favourite YouTubers for the classroom.

Sources:

“Home.” Board with Friends, https://www.boardwithfriends.ca/.

Indeed Editorial Team. “What Are ICT Skills? (and How to Highlight Them Effectively).” Indeed Career Guide, 6 May 2022, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/ict-skills.

“New Edtech Classroom.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/c/NewEdTechClassroom.

“Your at-Home 3D Laser Printer.” Glowforge the 3D Laser Printer Home Comments, https://glowforge.com/.